Dario Campanile
Born April 21, 1948 in
Rome, Italy
, Dario Campanile started to sketch as a very young child. After graduating with honors from an industrial design course, Dario spent time concentrating on painting in the classical style, mostly still lifes. In 1967 he entered his first art competition in
Norma
,
Italy
. Dario Campanile was the youngest participant to receive awards, and was praised by the judges for his excellent work.
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More detail:At the age of eighteen, Dario had the good fortune to meet Giorgio de Chirico, the Italian master of metaphysical art. Dario showed him some paintings and asked if he should attend art school. De Chirico counseled the young painter to simply experiment and continue discovering his own techniques. Inspired by this encounter, Dario found that his own hard work and discipline proved to be his best teachers. He continued to work full time on his art, and by the time he was twenty, he was successfully exhibiting his paintings in the Galleria Esedera in
Rome
, and attracting the attention of international collectors.
In 1968 Dario was called to duty by the army. A general from
Rome
saw some of his work in a gallery, and commissioned several paintings for the offices of the Ministry of Defense. Dario spent the next year and a half serving the military from his own studio. He then went to
London
to study English and to show his paintings. Before he left
London
, he was selling paintings regularly at the J. Middleton Gallery on
Kings Road. This was a turning point for the artist, because it was the first time he saw his art as not only a way of life, but a way to make a living.
Dario returned to
Rome
, and through a club of local artists who organized collective exhibits around the city, he met Madame Lucille Duillars, an influential art consultant from
Paris
. She motivated Dario to take a huge step forward in the development of his style when she pointed out that his use of color, light and shadow was the hallmark of a surrealist. Mme. Duillard challenged the young artist to pursue this new direction with an invitation to show at the Gallerie L Fayette in
Paris
. She stipulated that he was to bring no classical artwork to the exhibit. Bring me something purely from your imagination, she said. True to her instinct, Dario flourished in this new freedom to express himself through surrealism. The next summer, one of the most exciting experiences of Dario's life occurred. He was visiting the art colony in
Cadaques
,
Spain
, also the summer home of surrealist master Salvador Dali. Upon being shown some of Dario's work, Dali invited him to his home for an exchange of ideas. Over the next few days, Dario was offered much encouragement and inspiration to explore new dimensions of technique and composition. Dali was really impressed with my work, Dario remembers. and maybe he was pulling my leg a little. but he decided to call me, The Roman Master.
After moving to
Los Angeles
in 1973, Dario experienced great commercial success, and explored new directions in his art. He worked with clay sculpture, cast paper sculpting and cast paper bas relief. His artwork caught the eye of actors Valerie Harper, Carl Weathers, and Cheech and Chong, musician Herbie Hancock, casting director Lynn Stalmaster, and writer Harlan Ellison, who are among the many collectors of Dario's work.
In 1986 after working in
Los Angeles
for over a decade, Dario was honored to be chosen from hundreds of artists to create the 75th Anniversary Logo for Paramount Studios. His beautiful design of the famous mountain symbol is seen on every
Paramount
publication today.
In 1995, Vincent Lee of
Hong Kong
invited Dario, in conjunction with artist Yankel Ginzburg, to participate in the Third Annual Charity Art Gala Event to benefit the Hong Kong Council of Early Childhood Education and Service. The two artists were acknowledged in a letter from President Bill Clinton. Congratulating them on their continuing efforts to promote goodwill and their contributions on the behalf of education. His paintings are owned by many private collectors. My main goal, says the artist, is to be able to express my true soul and continue my journey by taking risks and always allowing myself to explore new visions. |
